A Faint Light in Dark Times
by 8namessmith
Summary: With great power comes a lot of problems! A story based on Nightbane and my own take on a possible HU2 world. I write slower than rocks rolling uphill. Thank you for your patience.
1. Chapter 1

A Faint Light Chapter 1 Revision

In a world where Heroes fly through the skies to cheering crowds, a young champion has been chosen to lead a media sponsored group to fight crime in Los Angeles.  
Star - Milton Cross - Age 18 Super Energy Expulsion: Light, Extra-ordinary Mental Affinity, Wingless Flight. Latent Mega Being, Powers Increase with Age. White jumpsuit with yellow nova flash on the chest and sky blue cape. Black gloves, utility belt, and boots. Star wears a .45 automatic concealed in his belt under his cape, just in case.  
Rook - Chase Masters - Age 14 Force Fields, Superhuman Physical Strength, Extra-ordinary Physical Endurance, Healing Factor. Forest green jumpsuit with black chess castle on the chest. Black gloves and boots.  
Mach - Kelly Li - Age 17 Sonic Flight, Extra-ordinary Speed, Extra-ordinary Physical Strength, Extra-ordinary Physical Prowess, Angel Face. Yellow jumpsuit with white cape. White gloves and boots  
Shadow - Lt James Kincaid, rtd - Age 30 Nightstalking, Power Channeling, Extra-ordinary Physical Prowess, Adhesion, Healing Factor, Extra-ordinary Physical Endurance, Cybernetic enhancements give him Heightened Sense of Hearing, and Radar, ambidextrous, double jointed, no facial features, breathe without air, blue green skin, no hair. Black mask, jumpsuit, gloves, and boots. Shadow wears a purely decorative shaded visor, to conceal his lack of facial features. His well padded jumpsuit conceals a pair of submachine-guns and several clips.  
Crash - Edward Mantega - Age 23 Supernatural Physical Strength, Slow Motion Control, Mega Being with Mega Strength and SDC, Vulnerable to Silver and Magic. Dark red pants and long black tunic.

During their first, highly publicized, battle, the team, known as Group Alpha was lost in a strange Dimensional Anomaly.

-denotes thought and telepathy-

All around was darkness, a deep black so profound that it soon became meaningless. All the light that Star could produce didn't do a thing to alleviate the absolute nothingness that surrounded Group Alpha, L.A.'s media owned crimefighters. The only thing that seperated them from the acidic nature of the pitch emptiness was the Force Field that Rook erected nearly an hour ago.

Mach was at the forward wall of the bubble, flying them forward at the speed of sound. Normally, Star was uncomfortable flying so fast, but with no resistance, and no variation in the pure absence of everything, even movement seemed to fade into that same state of nonexistence.

- I brought them here. - The thought echoed in Milton Cross' mind. As Star, he was chosen as their leader. He had trained with them for the last 10 months, preparing for their first test, the battle that would define them as Heroes or well intentioned losers. And then, Catastrophy. A vortex underneath them, all of them drawn into this unending emptiness. - It's my fault. My responsibility. My job to get them home. - Star's gaze settled on each member of his team in turn. Each of them was powerful, they had been handpicked by a major cable station to be a kind of corporate mascot, fighting for the safety and entertainment of viewers everywhere. At some point, he'd nearly rejected all but one of them.

Mach, the lovely Kelly Li. Strong, quick, and able to fly faster than the speed of sound. She was only 17, and she still didn't believe that all of this was quite real. Her psych profile said she was a risk taker, an action junkie. That wasn't why he'd asked to have her reassigned. Star knew he was attracted to her, she could make him do things against his better judgement. She was dangerous to his command abilities.

Rook, Chase Masters was the youngest of the group at 14. IQ of 220, and a chess Grand Master. Just for his age, Star hadn't wanted him on the team. He'd been overruled. Incredible strength, in addition to his force fields and intellect was too valuable to any mission. The fact that his age made the team kid friendly didn't hurt with the producers.

Edward Mantega, Crash was the wild card of the whole team. The guy was a natural leader. 8 foot tall, attractive, quick thinker. Stronger than the rest of the team put together. Damn near bullet proof. At age 23, he was 5 years older than Star. He had always been the leader in everything since grade school, and saw no reason why that should change. Truthfully, Star wouldn't mind working for him. But he questioned Crash's ability to take orders from him.

The only one that Star had never questioned was Shadow. Shadow was the only one of the team who had a secret identity. At 30 he was the oldest member of Team Alpha. Only Star knew the whole story. While serving in the Middle East, Army Special Forces Lt. Jim Kincaid acquired a nasty condition stopping a viral warfare attack. The Army tried everything they could to treat him, but somehow, the treatment changed Lt. Kincaid. He was now able to run faster, move quicker, hit harder, and stay longer than any other soldier, but it had come at a huge cost. Shadow's skin under his black jumpsuit and mask was bluegreen, and his face was completely smooth. Some how, he was still able to speak and see. They had to use cybernetic encanhements to let him hear again. Psychologically, Lt. Jim Kincaid was considerd unfit for further service, but he was recruited by the producers anyway. At first, Star had been leary, but Shadow had soon become his best friend.

The member he had questioned most strongly, however, was himself. Milton Cross. Star. He could shoot beams of light, and fly, but the reason they gave him the job was his "TVQ", he had some kind of mutation that made people like him, they said. He had still pushed for Crash as leader, but was turned down flat, and his contract required him to do what he was told.

"Star!" Mach broke the silence with an excited shriek, then her voice returned to its normal clear alto. "I can see a light up ahead."

Although he could never let them see it in his face, it took Star a moment to recover from the shock, and to get his emotions under control before he could respond. "Sounds like a destination Kelly, take us in. Top speed."

"Better make it quick, guys." piped in Rook. Star looked at the teams junior member, and he could see the strain beginning to moisten his young brow. "I've got maybe half an hour before I'm tapped.

A deep bass timber reverbrated through the bubble of safety "Sounds like a good reason to move fast, Mach." toned in Crash.

Star shot a worried glance at his second in command. - Is this it?- he asked himself. - Is this when he tries to take control? If he does, should I stop him? Maybe he would be a better leader.- "You heard the man, let's go."

Kelly knew her business, she flashed a grin at Star and took off in the direction of the light. From the expression on her face, it was obvious that she had no doubt about their success and survival. She was having fun. Rook was starting to look worried. Star could see the calculations running through his mind. On Earth, with a planetary curve, smog, clutter, and the distortion of an atmosphere, Kelly Li could read a sign post 10 miles away during the day, 5 at night. In this God forsaken void, with no discernible interference, that light could be even farther away. A lot farther. Milton Cross had no idea what kind of advanced mathematics Chase Masters had at his disposal to figure in speed, distance, weight, energy drain, it wasn't what he was good at. He just knew that the most intelligent human mind he had access to, and the one thing in this dark Hell keeping them all together and alive was worried. Or maybe he was concerned about what might be at the light.

That's what Star was worried about. He looked around again. He knew for a fact that his own face betrayed no emotion. He had learned that from his parents, and perfected it after the producers hired him. Shadow's expression was, as always, unreadable beneath his black mask, but Star knew that his friend was concerned about the same thing he was. Crash was all too readable. The oversized Adonis looked pensively in the direction that Mach was flying them. Once again, Star wished that the other man was in command.

He knew very well that Mach was in no way concerned about what lay at their destination, she was too excited about the adventure of it all. That was part of what attracted him to her. "Are we any closer, Mach?" asked Rook.

Mach smiled slyly at the young man. "Yep, but if you keep asking that, I'm gonna turn this thing around." Rook smiled, the tension lost some of it's hold on the boy's face. Star was grateful to the lovely speedster, anything that kept the young genius relaxed probably preserved his energy. Even if the joke was too corny for words. Even Crash managed to crack a smile. "If you look real hard, you can probably see it pretty soon now." Mach said cheerfully.

Sure enough, in just a few seconds, a tiny pinpoint of light became visible. In the darkness that surrounded them, the light was like a shining diamond, all the more valuable for its' rarity. The point of light quickly grew brighter and larger. With the absolute absence of their current medium, it seemed as if the light was coming towards them as they stood still. It wasn't long until the tiny pinprick expanded to the size of a mans fist. Then a head.

Steadily, the light continued to expand, turning gradually into an endless horizon of pale blue light. The relief in Rook's eyes was balanced by the caution in Star's mind. This shining shore could save their lives, but there was no telling what might await them. They grew even closer. Close eough that the distance actually seemed measurable. "Kelly," Star asked, "What do you see out there? Are there any people?"

"Hold on a sec, Star." Kelly scanned across the still distant horizon. "Not real clear yet, Star, but I think I see people moving around. A bunch to the left, maybe two or three dead ahead. Both groups moving right. You want me to aim for one, boss man?"

Star thought for a few seconds. - Large group in pursuit of small. Meeting any one of them could involve us in something local. Of course the small group could just be a scout for the large. Best play it safe. - "No. Aim us in front of the smaller group, as much in front of them as you can get in five minutes."

"Not a problem Star. They don't move very fast. I can get us a good ten minutes in front while still keeping in Rook's schedule."

Star knew very well that there was no garuantee that the same pain that they experienced from the darkness didn't await them at their destination. Still it was their best bet. Their only bet, really, despite the risk. True to her word, Mach got them to their desired destination in less than five minutes.

The time finally came when they landed. An almost palpable sigh of relief passed through them all as they felt gravity once again take hold of them. Rooks force bubble passed from existence with an expansive POP as air rushed around them, and everyone began to relax and stretch.

Only Star and Shadow stayed watchful. The terrain was a stony beach, with the darkness they left as the sea.- Must have been the dark area causing that pain, 'cause I'm fine here.- There were trees in the distance, but too far away for the slower members to reach quickly. No other cover was available. "Mach," Star hated to interrupt their celebration, but safety came first. "you keep watch for that small group. How far back can you see?"

Rolling her eyes at her unflappable commander, Kelly Li turned to scan the horizon. "I can see both groups Star. They're pretty weird looking. The big group has ten, and the smaller one has 2. The big group is gaining. Contact in 9 minutes."

"Rook. Status."

"Weak." the exhaustion in the boys face and voice was quite apparent. "I can fight if I have to, but Force Fields are minimal. I doubt if I could stand up to one of Crash's love taps at this point."

"Chase." Star put his hand on Rook's deceptively thin shoulder.

"Yeah, Star?"

"You did good back there. Saved all of us."

Quiet happiness suffused the youth's face. - More of that mutant charisma, I guess. I hate throwing it around on my own team, but he needs to know how important he is.- "Mach, you get Rook to those trees over there, and keep watch. If we need you, hit the afterburners."

"You got it, Chief." With a cocky grin, Mach lifted off with Rook in her arms. Despite her thrill-seeker nature, Star knew he could trust her to follow orders.

Milton Cross studied the rest of his team. Shadow he knew. Knew where he stood, knew he could count on him. He took in his second in command. "Crash. You, me, and Shadow will stay to make contact with the small group."

"Are we expecting hostiles, Star, or potential allies?"

"No telling at this point. Play it cool, keep your guard up."

With nothing else to say, the three waited until the first party came into view. Two ... beings was the best word, were running at full tilt. One of them looked like some kind of Cyborg/ Werewolf with eyes all around his head. The other one was a giant eyeball skittering along on eight spider legs. The two screeched to a halt in front of the trio of mutants. "Hurry!" warbled a woman's voice from somewhere deep within the eyeball. "A Hunting Party of Hounds is chasing us, they'll catch you, too, if you don't move it!"

Star looked deeply at the two creatures, weighing all the possibilities, all the logical arguments. Then went on instinct. "The beings that you're running from are gaining on you. My friends and I can help you, if you need it."

The Werewolf-thing stared at them. "I hope," it rumbled in a deep gravelly voice, "that you are tougher than you look."

Crash grinned easily at the freakish creatures. "Funny," he said, "That's just what I was thinking about you."

All conversation ceased when the larger party, ten humanoids with black metallic armor cast to look like a skeleton attacked with wicked longbladed spears. The werewolf opened the party with a blast of dark energy at the lead creature, the wound to its chest dripping green ichor.

One of the other creatures threw its spear at the werewolf. Shadow rolled forward and shot out a hand to catch the spear, hurling it into the knee of another enemy. The wound looked painful, but it kept going anyway, until Star put a blast of high intensity light right next to the spear. The knee exploded, seperating the leg from the body, much to Star's shock.

Crash went forward and shoreward, intending to attack from the side, and leaving the land side open to Mach. A burst of speed brought the monsters in close, although by the time they got there, there were three less, due to Crash and Shadow. That's when Mach made her entrance, grabbing two of them by the hand and flying them up at top speed. A sudden stop that would tear off a human's arm at the shoulder, and a sharp toss to the ground half a mile down. Crash simply grabbed another one and tore it's head off.

The Werewolf and the Eyeball were up front. Shadow was inland. Crash on the other side, and Mach grabbing them at random from the middle. Star hovered in midair behind the front line, picking them off at the back and lending a light bolt when useful, and a warning when appropriate. It wasn't long before all the creatures lay on the ground, dead or wounded. \

With all the enemies accounted for, the two creatures they had been helping began to melt into new shapes. The half mechanical werewolf transformed itself into a man of nearly 30, while the eyeball became a pleasant looking young lady of approximately 13 years in a floral print dress. "That was great!" said the girl. "Where the heck did you guys come from?"

"Actually," said Star. "We were going to ask you where we are, exactly."

The man looked thoughtfully at the group of strangers. "If you dont know where you are, how did you get here? It's pretty hard to get here by accident."

Milton Cross looked at the former wolf-creature. He knew suspicion when he saw it. He was expert at paranoia. Perversely, Star found trust a little easier to come by. "As far as how we got here, well, we're not sure. We got stuck out in that dark area, and only barely survived that. Quite frankly, we could use some help getting home."

The girl grabbed his arm. "C.W., we owe these guys. I'm not saying take them back to base or anything, but the least we could do is get them back to Earth. We can worry about the rest later."

- Dad always called it "assumed close".- "Thank you. We have another team member. He exhausted himself getting us out of ... that." Star indicated the darkness they had just left. "We appreciate your help. I'm called Star. This is Mach, Crash, and Shadow. Our other member is in the woods up there, his name is Rook. If you'll go get him, Mach, we'll get going." The girl was gone and back in less than 2 seconds, before the sonic boom from her leaving finished fading, an exhausted Rook sleeping in her arms. "We really apprecciate your help."

The man called C.W. looked them over carefully. "Don't mention it. I'm C.W., this is Peeper Creeper. Where do you want to go?"

Star looked at the relieved expressions on his team's faces. The tension that he'd been feeling was reduced as well, but his carefully neutral expression maintained itself by long practice. - As long as these guys don't send us into a trap, then we sould be fine. - "Los Angeles, please." - The producers are not going to believe this.-

Although C.W. still looked a little leery of them, he did nothing as his young companion began muttering under her breath. Without warning, a vortex began to form in the air behind them. The spiral of blue-white energy irised open into a blank portal cut out of thin air big enough for all of them to go through. Peeper smiled triumphantly. "Everybody in!"

Group Alpha was nervous, from his position behind them, Star could see the tension and fear in their postures. - I brought them here, if this is a trap, it's my responibility to spring it.- Striding purposefully through his fear, Milton Cross entered the doorway. He sighed momentarily in relief when he found himself in front of the Chinese Theater, and not back in that unwholesome darkness. Crash was the next one through, followed by Mach, with a still sleeping Rook in her arms. There was a brief, nerve wracking pause before C.W. came out grumbling, then Peeper Creeper, side by side with Shadow. - Way to go Shadow,- thought Star, - paranoid to the end.

"Peeper, C.W., thanks for your help. If there's any way we could reach you, I'm sure Eden Studios would give you a more substantial thanks."

C.W. looked askance at the young man. "Thanks, kid, but no thanks. If you figure you owe us somethin, we may ask for some help again. Cast a short shadow." With that unusual farewell, the two turned and began to walk away.

Once their two mystery rescuers turned the corner, Star reached to his utility belt to pull out the cellular phone that had stopped working when they had gone through the first anomaly. Still nonfunctional. "Everybody check your phones, mine's still dead."

A short time later, all communication's are found to not be functioning. Annoyed, they found themselves resorting to a payphone three blocks down the road. Mach being busy holding a sleeping Rook, and Crash far too large to fit into the booth, Star was the logical and obvious cadidate to make the call.

"Y'know," said Crash, "I hadn't noticed it before now, but with all these bright tights and capes, don't ya think we look kinda conspicuous?"

Star was coming out of the phone booth and heard the conversation unfold.

Mach, her white cape billowing gently around her bright yellow body stocking, stared at him. "Isn't that the idea, Eddy? After all, this is a kinda high visibility prefession."

Crash ran a nervous hand over the sleeveless black tunic that fit his enormous muscles like it was painted on. "I know, but it's real weird. Like we don't belong or something."

"I think you're overreacting big fella, heck we're probably all gonna need therapy after today."

Star chose that moment to interject. "Maybe so, Mach, but we might have to look for it somewhere else. The Studio number isn't working. I tried the private numbers for the producer's too. Some of them are nonexistent, and one was a phone sex line. Mach, hand Rook to Crash and go and see what's up at The Set. We'll wait here. And Kelly, be careful."

Kelly wrinkled her nose prettily at her leader. "Will you two just relax? We're home! We made it through the big scary place, made some friends and beat up the bad guys. It's done! I'll go check things out Mr. Paranoid, but you need to calm down." Quick as a blink, Mach was gone.

5 minutes later, Kelly Li returned to the group, at a subdued pace that deepened the grim cerainty that Star felt in his heart. Something was wrong. She set down with a gaze of deep confusion and fear. "It's not there." She said. "Not the Set, not the Studio, nothing. Even Silas is gone."

More than anything, that brought home to everyone that they were not where they belonged. Even the sleeping Rook stirred uneasily in Crash's massive arms. Silas Black had saved the entire Wast Coast from an asteroid collision in 1973. The giant copper statue that was built after his death from cancer the following year had stood strong through several Earthquakes and a couple dozen superhuman beings, and even a small alien invasion. Eden Studio had built it's headquarters right across the street from the metallic behemoth just to help lend Silas' reputation to their new idea for Group Alpha.

The Studio could fold up and be torn down, just another business down the tubes in L.A., but there wasn't a chance in Hell that Silas culd be gone too. Every meta-being and high-tech hero in the city would fight to the death before letting the Icon of their own personal Saint be destroyed.

Crash said it first. "Maybe there was another invasion while we were gone. They coulda dstroyed the statue when they attacked."

Mach looked at him, angry for no apparent reason, except to shield herself from the fear. "Not destroyed, Mr. Muscle," she hissed between clenched teeth, "gone. As in never there. Empty lot. Covered in grass. Big tree right where Silas used to stand. Gone."

Words utterred in anger, but Star could feel the horrible truth behind them. Wherever they were, no matter that it looked like home, smelled like home, even sounded like home, it wasn't home. Star could see the hope on Crash's face turn to anger, and then, slowly, the anger melt into defeat.

The silence of the night surrounded and then filled them. Although together, each felt the singular desolation of being lost in a place they were alien to.

They were soon interrupted by the blare of sirens and the squeal of tires as 4 police cars came to a halt beside them. Doors opened, spilling out uniformed cops like they were on sale. 8 shotguns trained on them, 4 on Crash alone. "Freeze, freaks, or we shoot!"

Confused and startled, Group Alpha was ready for a fight. Star knew his team, they were lost, scared, but against their powers, the cops wouldn't stand a chance. All they needed was the signal, and they would attack. Star raised his hands up into the air in a large gesture, distracting the police enough to let Shadow fade back into the shadows and climb up a nearby wall. "We surrender." His team could handle cops, but then they would have an enemy where they didn't need one.  
Mach followed soon after then Crash, burdened by Rook in his arms, just turned his hands outward. Soon they were bound tightly at the wrists with plasitc ties and put into the backs of the police cars, Crash taking up the entire back seat of one cruiser on his own.

The processing was fairly easy, but harrowing in it's own way. Already lost from their home, the seperation from the familiar carried with it the fear of loss. Star could see crash and Mach visibly restrain themselves when the polie took Rook away to the Juvenile Authorities. The look of defeated stoicism on Mach's face as they took her away to the womens holding area was almost enough to break Star's will. It took all the control he could muster, not to yell at her to leave this place at top speed.

Shadow was on the outside.Star could take comfort in that. He was a pro, quick, smart, quiet. Inside wasn't problem either. Either Crash or Rook could make confetti out of stone walls and iron doors with a half dozen punches. Given the need, they could all be out of here in a matter of minutes. First things first though, information.

He and Crash were ushered into an overcrowded cell with a another half dozen prisoners. Mainstream, fringe, confused or defiant, everyone of them moved out of the way when Crash ducked into the iron barred concrete room. Crash sat down on the heavy wooden bench bolted to the concrete walls, letting it sag slightly under him. Star sat beside him, utterly assured of no interruptions, and began to think. -Silas gone, that's first, then we get picked up by the police. Crash was right; our costumes are out of place here. They used plastic strips on Crash, not magnetic restraints, Exotics are uncommon here, maybe nonexistent. It must have been that void we passed through, we need to find out more about it, see if we can use it to get back home. Cyberwolf and his friend seemed to know something about it, we need to find them, or others like them. First we need to get out of here. 

Star looked up at Crash and spoke quietly. "They're going to run our prints and ID cards."

The blonde giant slowly came away from his own thoughts. "Probably. What difference does it make?"

"I don't think they'll find any record of us."

Bright blue eyes considered for a moment and Crash lowered his voice as well. "I see your point. We may have a lot of explaining to do."

"I, personally, don't have any explanations. I'd like some though." Star closed his eyes in thought.

"So do we break out?" The big mans massive hands clenched, knuckles popping audibly.

Star sighed loudly. "No, we can't afford to burn bridges with the law yet. There's no telling how long we'll be here, with what I've seen so far it wouldn't take much to escape if things go badly."

"You're the boss."

There was nothing more to say. The two men fell silent, waiting in the silence of their own thoughts. Until a police officer opened the cell door. "Cross, Mantega, come with me." the officer said, his voice laced heavily with bored contempt, and led them out of cells and down the hallway to an empty room. "Sit down, someone will be with you" He pushed at the small of Stars back, indicating that it was in fact the smaller man he wanted to go in.

As soon as he sat down in the hard metal chair, the officer closed the door. They were trying to make him wait, get him to sweat. Had he not been born Milton Cross, son of the best salesman Geno Mech Technologies had ever seen, it might have worked. - I never thought that Dad's talk about work would be so useful leading a team of crime fighters. Minimum information, and maximum time, and half the time they'll sell themselves before you even get there.- Forewarned, however, is forearmed. When two plainclothes walked into the room ten minutes later, he had had time to formulate a plan.

Almost like he was watching a movie, the two cops sat, the rumpled one turning his chair around so that the back was against his belly, the other sitting almost formally, opening a manila file folder in front of him. As scripted, the nice looking one, who would later be playing "Bad Cop", he was sure, spoke first. "Mr. Cross, is it?

-Serious, earnest.- "That's right Officer. Milton Cross." The young Exotic met the interrogators eyes calmly; careful to keep the intensity he was feeling out of his voice. It wouldn't do at all to have them realize that they had been manipulated later.

Bad Cop pursed his lips in distaste. "Detective." He spat. "Detective Reynolds." Then pointed to his partner and said. "Detective Latimer"

Star smiled wryly at the newly identified detective. "My apologies, Detective Reynolds, I was not informed of your rank." –A little subtle flattery couldn't hurt.- "I suppose it's best to start closer to the top with this. What I have to say may be a little hard to believe at first."

The two detectives looked at each other, exchanging ideas and plans in the almost telepathic way that long term partners seemed to have. Then it was Latimer's turn. Good Cop. "Mr. Cross," he began neutrally, "Your ID came back nonexistent. The state of California has never heard of you. The Social Security Office has never heard of you. Even the IRS doesn't know you exist." He gave a long suffering sigh that Star would bet money he practiced in the mirror. "The only other ID you have is from a government agency that has never existed, using the Seal of the United States, which makes it a felony, on top of the 3 other felonies in your wallet alone."

"Yes, sir; I realize how this all seems, but I can assure you that I do have an explanation."

Reynolds snorted at the young prisoner. "I can't wait."

Star grinned at the two men. "Okay, you asked for it!" he said. "My name is Milton Cross, alias Star, registered and approved by the Bureau of Exotic Affairs. I am a Human Exotic with an inherited genetic augmentation."

He used just a touch of his Exotic personality to get them to listen without interrupting. "I am the leader of Team Alpha, a duly deputized Special Response Group under the control of Xtreme Entertainment Network. My team and I are currently displaced after a dimensional anomaly sent us into a strange void."

The detectives shared another look, barely able to hold back laughter. "So, um, Star? Is that right?" Reynolds was struggling to hold onto his Bad Cop persona. "So, what you're saying is, you're from another dimension and have super powers?"

Star maintained the same engaging grin, then leaned back, putting his feet on the table, and pointing at the far corner of the room, which held the chair that had been sitting on the prisoners side of the table.

The two detectives blinked, then left the room quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

Perhaps it said something about his life that Chase Masters, at the tender age of 14, knew a hospital bed well enough to identify it by feel. Being the youngest person in Extreme Entertainment's Networks media sponsored supergroup, he had been forced to work even harder to match the physical combat prowess of his older teammates, One of the few areas where his intelligence didn't help him was in training his muscles to learn the instinctive physical responses that were required of them. Mistakes in training were common, and even with his enhanced stamina and healing abilities, mistakes made in Tactical Exercises could still put him down for the count.

So his first response upon awakening on a hospital bed was not the fear and confusion of the typical teenaged boy, but the analytical calm of a young man trained to think. -hospital. was I dreaming? possible. i remember the fight with humanity, then they brought out that weird exotic. -

With an Intelligence Quotient measured at 203, and a memory that bordered on the eidetic, the young mutant known as Rook began to analyze the battle with the geno-terrorist group Humanity. He and Shadow had inserted into the Burea of Exotic Affairs office in down town Los Angeles. Star, Mach, and Crash were outside, their powers being better suited to open spaces and loud distractions.

It was just like a tactical exercise: Shadow took to the duct work, transmitting enemy positions and hostages back to Rook's HUD monocle. Fifteen live hostages, nametags didn't match any registered exotics. Groups of 5, 2 guards each. Armed with AK-47's and remote detonators, hostages loaded with half a pound of C-4 each.

The groups were spread out in three different offices, too far apart for any kind of straight on attack. The radio equipment he carried could disrupt communications for a few minutes, but only for one group at a time, and that wouldn't neccessarily stop the detonators.

A plan came to him quickly, and just as quickly was relayed to Shadow and the others. Approval was given from Star outside, and the operation began.

The first group of terrorists were taken out within five seconds, the buttons on the detonators covered by tiny forcefields, protecting the hostages, while Shadow's combat skills made short work of the terrorists. In less than a minute all of the hostages were released, leaving only the enemies remaining outside to deal with.

With the explosive laden vests removed, the hostages were ushered out of the building under a Force Field strong enough to stop an artillery barrage. As soon as the hostages were seen, the rest of Group Alpha turned up the heat, and the hostage group took only minimal fire.

As soon as the hostages were safely behind police lines, Rook raced back to help in the mopup. Using his forcefields to bind key opponents within his range, making it easier for the others to take them out, or shielding the others when they were pinned down.

Then things got confusing. One of the terrorists steped forward. Stars blasts of light, and Rook's own Kinetic force blasts bounced off of him. Concentrated gunfire was forcing the rest of Group Alpha slowly together while this man began gesturing and shouting. Mach, flying above, was the first to notice the dark vortex swiftly irising beneath their feet, but even her speed wasn't enough to stop Crash and Rook from falling into it.

Star and Mach did their best to fly them out, but were unprepared for the acidic agony of the dark place they were pulled into. Even Shadow had some how been propelled into the darkness. Before even a strong attempt at escape could be made, the portal closed, trapping them in the darkness.

Then the interminable flight in the force bubble, landing on that strange shore, then nothing until waking up in this hospital bed.

Step one: Get information. He sat up, rather surprised to see himself in a ward full of young boys and girls, and not the private clinic at the Studio. Shortly, a nurse arrived, a warm smile on a fairly plain face atop a middle aged body. "Good morning!" her voice was as warm as her smile, and as earthy as her body, Rook couldn't help but smile back. "How are you feeling today?"

Still smiling, he answered. "A bit confused really. Could you tell me where I am?"

The nurse nodded indulgently. "Of course. You were asleep when they brought you in. This is the Ambrose Youth Services Safe House."

Rook suddenly lost his smile, confusion winning over amiability. "Could you tell me how I wound up here?"

She bit her lip before continuing. "The police found you, you were unconcious, and they suspected you had been kidnapped."

"I see." -some kind of clerical error.- "May I make a phone call? My employers may be concerned."

Confusion passed from Rooks face, and seemed to find a new home upon that of the kindly nurse. "Employers?"

"Yes, Extreme Entertainment Network, the number should be on my BEA card."

Confusion had not only found a home upon the woman, but seemed to be beginning a colony. "BEA?"

Rook sighed quietly. Obviously the woman did not approve of the Burea's rules about young Exotics. "Yes ma'am, I am an exotic registered with the Burea of Exotic Affairs, ID number 2231-I4, Chase Masters, Approved Alias: Rook. I am sure if you call XEN this can all be cleared up in short order."

For a brief time, the colony of confusion appeared to be reaching Metropolitan size, then was wiped away with a massive bomb of compassion and pity. "Let me get the doctor."

With great effort, Rook did not get up out of the bed, or even use his powers on the woman. "psst, hey" a whisper from the left turned out to be a young woman about his own age with shoulder length brown hair and a scowl that looked like a longterm resident on her face.

Aside from that, she was rather pretty so he smiled at her. "Hi, Chase Masters. whats your name?"

"Call me Tom." she said. "So what was with that crappola you were talking about?"

Rook's smile was a bit strained, but he continued gamely. "Crappola? I take it you don't think much of exotics."

"Exotics? What the hell are you talking about?" Tom's face screwed up in honest confusion. "You get crazed er somethin?"

Before he could respond, Rooks attention was drawn to two men coming in his direction. One was a doctor, much the same in dress and appearance as any other doctor in any other government facility. The other, however, was . . . odd. In build and face he was average, the only thing that stood out was his perfectly pressed black suit and his mirrored sunglasses. His face was stiff and militant, but he lacked the unique bearing of a soldier.

When they reached the bed, it was the doctor who spoke first. "Mr. Masters, may I call you Chase?"

There was something about the situation, and the doctors companion, that rubbed him the wrong way. "I prefer Rook, if you don't mind."

The doctor smiled. His eyes fairly radiated blatant condescension. "Okay 'Rook'. My name is Dr. Lestedt, I'm in charge of the clinic. This is Agent Blair. We have a few questions to ask you."

Rook decided that it wold be Agent Blair that would be asking the questions. "Are you with BEA?" He asked the black suited man.

The Agents voice was gruff and his tone sudden. "I'm with the NSB. Do you know these people?" The photographs were police mug shots of Star, Mach, and Crash.

-mug shots. why would they be in police mug shots? and why would this guy be asking about them? and what the hell is NSB?- "Why are you asking me? That information is readily available in the Exotic Affairs database. Any government agency can look it up."

Lestedt was taken aback by the young man questioning the government agent, but Blair himself, by his face, didn't seem to even care. "Mister Masters, you will cooperate with this investigation, or you will be compelled." with that the agent reached for Rook's shoulder. Unwilling to let this man touch him, the young mutant generated a force field surrounding the agents entire body below the neck. Blair seemed to take it in stride. "Let me go."

Rook favored him with a cold glance. "Under the circumstances, I think you should stay still, 'Agent Blair'." -let him go.- The young man began to remove the force field.

-why ya lettin tha pig loose?- Then returned it to full power. "Try that again 'Agent Blair' and I will not only report you for Misuse of Exotic Abilities, but I will cut off your oxygen." -ha, that's got the beastie shakin in his boots.- -he doesn't look scared. hey! who was that?-

-me, tom.-

-you're an exotic?- Another force field was placed over the agents mouth.

-i'm a psychic- a mixture of confusion and contempt set itself in Rooks mind.

-okay. do you know what's going on with this guy? what's this NSB?-

-NSB is the feds. this ones one of the beasties though. his brains a big bug. are you gonna escape? if so I wanna come with you. he's gonna take me in too, if I don't get outta here.-

-take us in where?-

-i dunno, someplace dark. someplace where it hurts.-

First rule of survival in a strange situation. Take control. -can you walk?-

-no.-

-will it hurt you if I carry you?-

-no.-

-which wall faces outside.-

"What's going on here?" Dr. Lestedt was understandably confused at the silent and still government agent stuck in an awkward position reaching towards the boy on the bed for the last 10 seconds.

Rook glanced at him, then back at Tom. "We're leaving." With that he got up off the bed, went over to Tom and lifted her up, the sheet falling away revealing heavy casts on both legs. "Which way?"

She pointed to the wall at the end of the ward some 30 feet away. Carrying his load with the ease with which one would hold a small child, Chase Masters approached the wall and lashed out with a roundhouse kick, Schedule 4 muscular capacity ripping through plaster, wood, and exterior bricks easily. Doctor, Agent, and patient's stared, stunned mute. A few more kicks opened a hole big enough to walk through.

Rook carried Tom through the hole and into a sunlit suburban industrial area. Bullets from three uniformed police officers bounced off of a force dome.

Muscles that could carry five tons pushed at the ground, carrying slightly over two hundred pounds to the roof of the two story building behind them.

"What the hell, man? How you doing all this?" Tom's scowl vanished in a combination of awe and fear.

"I told you I was an Exotic." He couldn't help but grin when she wrapped her arms around him and held tighter. -we got maybe a minute to get out of here. The next building's too far to jump.-

-so what do we do?-

"The telepathy thing is a bit distracting. You may want to stop for now, cause this is gonna get a little tricky." A wall of force extended from the edge of the roof into midair at a forty five degree angle. Rook ran as fast as he could out onto the ramp, his strength making the steep angle as easy as flat ground. Forty feet out, forty feet up, a limitation in range that the BEA doctors said would improve as he learned more focus. Split second timing was the only thing standing between the two of them and missing the jump.

Tom's eyes were closed tight when Rook made another leap that wouldn't take them nearly far enough to make the next roof. Their fall was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a carefully shaped force field that acted as a slide to the next roof where it was anchored.

Another force ramp assisted jump took them another street away from Agent Blair and any backup he might be able to call. A few more leaps to further lose any pursuers, and Rook set Tom onto the roof of a convenience store.

The restrained terror on her face was actually kind of cute. It took a few moments for her to realize that they had stopped. She cracked one eye. "Is it over? Are we alive?"

"For the moment." he said with a wry smile.

"So what's the plan?"

"First, we find a place to hide. Then we find my friends. Somewhere along the way, finding out what exactly is going on."

"Yeah, over planning is such a pain." Tom deadpanned. She was still a bit shook, but mostly recovered from the ride. "I know a place we can hole up. An empty warehouse. Buncha homeless and runaways use it. I got some friends might be there, they can maybe help."

"You know how to get there from here?"

Tom looked around, getting her bearings as best she could from her vantage point in Rook's arms. "Yeah, I think so."

10 years ago an accident during a covert operation had been the beginning of the end of James Nero Kincaid, and the beginning of the long years of pain that birthed the para-human known as Shadow. He still wasn't quite sure exactly when the sequence of events had fallen so completely out of control as to leave him on the roof of an office building in another reality while the rest of his team was taken off to jail.

Still, he was a soldier. He would adapt. He had been forced to spend the rest of last night on the roof. He had no fear of the elements. This, admittedly, wasn't saying much in Southern California.

It was day now, but somehow he still felt a twinge of the same energy that flooded his body and senses at night. A mystery, but one for another time. Right now there were more important things to worry about. Something had gone wrong. The team had been captured. Something about the fight with Humanity's exotic and that weird portal had put them in a place that wasn't home. That could wait too.

Of somewhat greater importance was finding his friends. If they hadn't escaped custody by now, then the differences between worlds would have likely put them into even more trouble. The building below would have computers he could use to find information and news, if he could get in without being seen.

If he knew how to hack into secure systems without setting off ten or twenty kinds of alarms. Not very likely. Even in the military, they had given up teaching him much beyond basic computer skills.

Times like this, he truly felt the pain of his situation. If he had a face, even with his skin this odd shade of blue, he might have been able to enter a library as a normal human. Or even buy some breakfast. He wasn't human, though, not anymore. Not for a long time now. Too bad, an egg and bacon on toast would go great about now. Meanwhile, there must be an unattended snack machine somewhere in the building. As much as he disliked casual theft, he wasn't carrying any change in his costume.

Across a series of low rooftops a pair of teenagers crossed the city, concealing themselves as best they could against detection. Though if they had been seen, they would have made a most curious sight: A dark skinned boy making superhuman leaps carrying a fair girl with both of her lower legs in casts, both of them wearing state issued hospital gowns.

Tom still wasn't quite used to being carried across rooftops over nearly invisible force ramps and bridges, but she could see how it could get fun. For now though, they were near their destination. "There it is." she said, pointing at a large, if slightly run down, warehouse.

Rook's trained eye spotted the three guards in the front. Well positioned, but unarmed. Or at least not visibly armed. Lot's of people would mistake him for being unarmed, too. "There supposed to be guards there?"

"Yeah, but I can get you in, just put us down there."

-may as well go in style.- The building they were on was only two stories, putting the street well within range of his force fields. Visualizing carefully the shape he wanted, Rook made a staircase visible only by faint sparkles in the air. Taking his best impressing-the-press posture, he carried the girl down the stairs without hurry or hesitation.

The guards saw him about halfway down. As he had more than half suspected, hands were raised in a variety of preparatory gestures. As they continued down, the guards aim followed. Tom began to wave at them. "Jim, Max, Sorrow, it's me, Tom. He's with me." The three men kept their hands up and pointed at the children.

-great, three suspicious projectors outside, god knows what inside, and all i have is me and a psychic with her legs in casts, and i'll lay odds not one of them is registered.- On the ground, Rook dissolved the staircase, creating personal armor. Two of the guards spread to either side while the third moved forward.

The one that approached was a tall, muscular Asian about 33. "Hello, Tom. Who's your friend."

"Jim, this is Rook, he helped me bust out when a bug-head came after us." -don't blow this, man. jim don't play.-

Jim looked the young man up and down carefully, gauging the wiry muscles able to support the weight of someone almost his own size without strain. "Rook, huh, funny name."

The young man smiled up at the obviously dangerous older man in front of him. "At least it's not Slim."

Jim smiled slowly, while Tom just looked confused. "Smart kid."

"My parents liked old music." The joke about his name was a gamble, it made a positive impression, but it didn't reduce the Asian mans awareness one iota. Rook hadn't expected it too; this man was too much of a professional. "Tom needs to get her legs looked at, we've been bouncing around a little since we escaped. If you could please get someone to take her inside, then we can talk, or I can be on my way."

Jim looked over to his left. One of the other guards about 22, Caucasian with medium brown hair and geometric tattoos swirling across his cheeks and forehead, nodded distractedly and went inside. "Alright kid, follow me and we'll get things going.

Inside the warehouse, a flurry of activity centered around a quick-eyed man with twitchy hands who took Tom from his arms, and Jim escorted him down a hall way to a series of offices, past a number of men and women armed with automatic rifles and submachine guns.

He was escorted into the last office and motioned towards a barely padded folding chair in front of a desk covered with maps and papers. Jim stood near the door, impassive. The sound of a flushing toilet was followed shortly by running water, and an adjoining door opened to reveal what could best be described as an angel; A beautiful girl seeming at first glance to be the same age as Rook himself with her small size and flawless, nearly translucent skin. Hair the color of white gold flowed down to her knees in a soft fall. A second look showed eyes as old and hard and sorrowful as her face and form were not.

Her voice was as soft as her skin and as old as her eyes. "My name is Auriel, I am in charge here."

-no duh.- "My name is Chase Masters. I'm called Rook. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like to, and I'll answer what I can."

Auriel looked speculatively at the hospital gown. "I don't suppose you have any ID?"

"I left it in my other pants." Rook deadpanned

Her eyes lost focus for a moment. "Your aura is quiet unusual. Not a mage, not psychic, still a human, but certainly not normal. After what I've heard of your entrance I would have to say you are some kind of mutation. Such things are very rare, but since Dark Day a few have surfaced."

Rook carefully schooled his face into a neutral expression. -not many mutants, and what's this dark day? that strange darkness. maybe it's another dimension? so what to tell these people.-

Auriel's eyes narrowed. "You're a telepath." Rook announced calmly.

One flawless eyebrow raised, "Amongst other things, yes.

Covering his thoughts with a cacophony of mathematics, literature, and chess moves, Rook looked fixedly at Auriel. "Where I come from, using telepathy to invade someone's mind without their permission carries strong social and legal consequences."

"By all appearances, you are not where you're from." She returned, frowning coldly. "You are where I am from, and where I am from I will use any means at my disposal to make sure you are not a threat to my people. This includes ripping through your so impressive mental defenses and forcing your intentions out of your mind if need be."

Frowning right back at her, Rook dropped his mental shields and focused with crystal clear intensity on the events since waking up in the medical ward. –i have had a bad day. i am stuck in another dimension, on the run from the law, and the rest of my friends are apparently in jail. i have no idea what's going on here, or what situation you're in. i need to get my friends out, and then find help in getting us all home. i am not a threat to you or your people unless you make me!- "I hope that helps you make whatever decision you need to."

Still frowning regally at the young man, Auriel sat for nearly 15 interminable seconds. "Alright." She nodded. "We can't offer much in the way of help. Every resource I have is dedicated to stopping an evil that seeks the destruction of all life on this world." She cocked her head slightly. "My people have informed me that Tom has been healed. She will help you to find your friends, and guide you around the more obvious dangers of our city."


	3. Chapter 3

Star found himself sitting in another interrogation room late the next morning. Having already made his point the previous night, he used the provided chair instead of merely levitating. This meeting would determine whether or not he would take his team out of here. He would ask for information on Rook, and get an epinephrine treatment for Mach.

He had been waiting for nearly 2 hours for representatives of the NSB, the National Security Bureau, and he was starting to have trouble holding onto his patience. Breathing deeply to retain his composure, Star forced himself back to calm patience.

Edward Mantega, known to his fans as the charismatic giant Crash, was struggling hard to hold his temper in the face of a very irritating agent of the government of an other-dimensional USA. The utter emotionless on the agents face did little to conceal the obvious derision in his voice. "Mr. Mantega, if you won't cooperate with me, then I don't see how we can help you."

Crash sighed faintly. Faintly for a normal person anyway, from his cavernous lungs it would be clearly audible for twenty feet. "Agent Blair, if you won't cooperate with me then I don't see how you can help us, either. My name, by the way, is Crash. Only the IRS calls me Mr. Mantega."

Blair's voice fairly dripped annoyance. "There is no need for sarcasm Mr. Mantega. I want an explanation for the abilities you and your associates demonstrated earlier this morning, and I will have it!" Slowly, almost as if it required an effort of will, a sneer plastered itself on Agent Blair's face. "I will find your secrets Mantega. I will find out who you work for. If not from you, then from one of your friends; the female perhaps."

For the past hour Crash had been forced to listen to disbelief, conspiracy theories, and barely veiled threats against himself and his teammates, all the while sitting politely on a metal chair that was WAY too small to fit more than one buttock at a time. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before looking back at the agent on the other side of the table. "Agent Blair," he smiled gently. "I can assure you that you have my utmost cooperation." Reaching out to grasp either side of the table in front of him, smoothly snapping the chains of the 4 pairs of handcuffs that bound a set of improvised wrist restraints made from several sets of ankle cuffs. "However, if you continue to threaten my teammates, I will become . . . upset." The quarter inch thick stainless steel turned slowly and noisily from a 4 foot by 3 foot table top into a rough wad about twice the size of a basketball.

Expression unchanging, Blair got out of his chair and backed to the door, and out of it.

Moments later, another man, easily identified as an agent by the NSB ID card on his black conservative suit. "Mr. Mantega, I'm Agent Richard Phillips, NSB. I would like to apologize for Agent Blair's behavior. He has been under a lot of stress lately, after Dark Day we have had a lot of terrorists using powers like your groups, and Agent Blair takes the protection of this country very seriously."

Face hard and angry, Crash glared at Agent Phillips. "I can appreciate that concern, Agent Phillips. I take the protection of my friends just as seriously." Another deep breath allowed Crash to tamp down his anger at Blair. "All we want is to get home. My team leader chose to give you a chance, but Agent Blair has made it difficult for me to trust your people. However, if you are going to help, then I can put up with a little aggravation."

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Nightfall. Shadow could feel the energy flood his body. There was something different in this place, an unfamiliar sense to the darkness that made it heavier in his mind than the night back home.

The plan to get food from the vending machines hadn't worked. There were just too many people around to get away with breaking one of them, and security too tight to enter at night. He needed to get food, to find Star, and to establish a base. Not necessarily in that order.

First step: information. A map of the city so he could find his way around. Newspapers to get an idea of the local situation. His goals firmly in mind, Shadow descended the rear wall of the office building towards the alley below. Something tickled at his senses about two floors away. Trusting to instinct, the black clad figure slipped into a nearby shadow and sank himself into it to get a better look.

The woman was beautiful; slim yet voluptuous, wearing an elegantly simple blue satin sheathe, with waist length blonde hair. The man was just a bum, nearly 50, ratty hair that used to be red, but was now more grey than anything. The sight of the two of them fondling each other behind a dumpster was a real shocker, but that tingle at the back of Shadow's neck told him that something wasn't right. Something in him knew that the woman was a killer, and that the bum was dinner.

He waited; there was no relying on instinct when it came to dealing with things like this, and instinct was all he had right now. Resisting was difficult, it seemed every cell in his body was offended by the woman's existence.

Regardless, the homeless man didn't seem to detect anything amiss in the situation. His reaction as the blonde worked the hem of the tight blue dress up past bare skin and over her head was anything but disapproving. Disbelieving maybe, but not disapproving. The woman carefully folded the dress and tucked it into her small handbag on top of the dumpster, graciously showing herself off to her audience.

Smiling salaciously, she turned back to the man, pressing her full bosom against his filth encrusted clothes, and pressed him back against the side of the dumpster. He was holding on as tight as he could as she kissed him gently on the lips, the cheek, and then moving to his throat.

She put her arms around him, and pulled her head back, smiling sweetly as she changed. What was smooth pale skin turned nearly translucent, eyes glowed red from beneath half closed eyes, and her mouth opened wide to show fangs. The man in her grasp began to struggle, opening his mouth to scream, but the woman gripped him tight, forcing the air from his lungs and silencing his scream before it could begin. As her victim struggled against her bare skin, she prepared to rip out his throat with her fangs. The pain in the side of her head was a surprise. As was the brick wall.

Almost instantly, the blonde woman leapt away, her back to the wall 10 feet down the alley. She saw nothing in the shadowed alley that could have done this. She stood proud and arrogant before the unseen. "Whoever you are, you were a fool to have interfered in my feeding. Before, I was content to subsist on the thin blood of this gutter trash, but no more! I will bathe in your blood tonight. Show yourself and let me drink your terror!"

As though he took his form out of darkness, Shadow stepped into view. Clothed in black from head to toe, he moved like night itself, flowing into the dim light of the alley.

The homeless man stayed cringing by the dumpster, casting his eyes back and forth between the naked statuesque blonde who had been about to kill him, and the dark figure that may have just saved his life. He did the only thing that made sense. He ran. "Jesus H. Christ," he muttered "monsters and alien ninjas. Country really is goin' ta Hell."

Red eyes shone with animal rage in the darkness, boring into a ballistic plastic visor. Shadow could feel her will like a malignant force, seeking his eyes, his mind. He could feel her probing hatred stab into his head like a dagger, and sense it skidding painfully off of his psyche by a bare margin..

Snarling in frustrated rage, the woman curled her fingers into claws and pounced at him. Grabbing one of her extended arms at the wrist and elbow, Shadow twisted sharply, flinging her towards the wall across the alley, and helping her on the way with a force powered kick to the chest.

Seemingly unfazed by the impact, the woman pushed off the wall and landed a punch in her opponents chest, knocking him back into the opposite wall to a far greater effect. "Idiot," she hissed, "you think you can survive this night? I can smell the mortality all over you. No mere human can ever defeat a vampire!"

With that, she attacked again, fingers curled to rip out Shadows throat. Desperately, Shadow pushed off of the wall, under her arms and around her body, putting a charged punch into the side of her knee, knocking her support out, before leaping to the wall and pulling a shadow around him again.

The vampire stopped cold, staring at the spot where her adversary had vanished. She sniffed carefully and detected nothing. "Damn!" Grabbing her purse from the top of the dumpster, leaving herself exposed to a leap kick as Shadow sprang from his hiding place, his foot extended. The kick struck through the vampire, or at least the fog that had replaced her.

Shadow stood perplexed as the mist faded from the alley.

Rook had been given a pair of black denim jeans and a green t-shirt by Jim when he had been dismissed by Auriel. He had been escorted to a small bare room with 3 hard backed chairs and a water cooler to wait for Tom. Jim sat in one of the chairs, but several attempts to start a conversation had met with a mildly amused smile and continued silence.

The door opened and Tom entered. In a black tank top and blue jeans she seemed more nervous than during a rooftop escape in a hospital gown and casts. Jim came close to grinning watching her fidget. Rook wasn't sure what was wrong; possibly something to do with whatever healing process enabled her to heal two broken legs in half an hour.

Scratching at one elbow, she looked sullenly at Rook. "Thanks." she mumbled. "For, ya know, saving my life and all."

Something in the set of Tom's shoulders drew Rook's eye back to Auriel, standing in the doorway. "You don't need to thank me," up went the insulating layers of logic and nonsense. "it's my job. Besides," he grinned. "you helped me too, you brought me here."

Tom gave half a smile. "Let's go see if we can find your friends."

In his heart, he knew that Auriel was a good leader, that she cared deeply about her cause, and that her cause was her people. In his mind, he knew that that same quality meant that she was manipulating this situation, and using Tom to do it. In the same situation, Rook might even have done the same thing, but Tom was his friend, and he would not let his friends be used to control him.

Detective Arina Taylor trusted NSB Agent Blair about as far as she could throw a Buick. of course, she'd never met an Agent that she trusted. They tended to leave too many bodies on the ground in cases that should have never gone beyond purely local. Of course these days it was hard to find a cop that you could trust.

Which was why she was standing guard outside the door of a hospital room containing a prisoner who had seemed perfectly healthy until two Detectives came tearing out of an interrogation room yelling about a flying man. Shortly afterwards, Agent Blair and his NSB Field Team had come in and took the girl to the hospital; no reason given.

So here she was, watching the room, and the agents guarding the door.

Two hours ago, the NSB had escorted a scowling floor nurse out of the room and sealed off the corridor. Rumor was that the girl and her friends were suspected terrorists, but a friend at the lab had looked up the prints. These people had never been in any system at all. No criminal activity with the prints on files either local or federal (and that last had taken some work).

She knew she had to take the risk. She needed to know what the NSB was up to.

The guard had gone down the hall to the nurses' station, then to the bathroom. She had about 30 seconds before the patrol came by again, and then another 4 till the guard came back and looked in on the patient. 5 minutes at most.

It only took 15 seconds to get in the room. It was a normal private hospital room. The visitor chairs, table, and any plants had been moved out, leaving only the bed. The patient, a teenage Asian girl with short hair, was wrapped in bed sheets and had heavy straps across her chest, hips, and upper shins running over the sheets, cinching her hands to her sides. Wrist and ankle manacles run through the bed frame reinforced the restraint.

Detective Taylor stared intently at the face the files named Kelly Li, willing her to be some kind of answer to the detectives questions about the NSB, and the government behind them. _I need your help Kelly Li, I need these answers, and I need you to help me._

"help me." The voice was weak, and at first Detective Taylor thought she was hearing her own thoughts in the darkened room. "help me, please." That was enough to trace the words to the hospital bed, and the patient/prisoner.

_I am so getting fired for this._ Taylor said to herself, going to the bed. _If they don't shoot me first._

Star had been sitting in the same room for 4 hours when Agent Nicholas Blair sat down on the other side of the table. "Your name is Milton Cross. Is this correct?"

The agent's face was blank, but Star smiled politely as a matter of course. "That is my legal name, yes. I prefer Star however."

"A prisoner's preference is irrelevant. It is not NSB procedure to use nicknames when interrogating a suspect." A poker face that a stone might envy, and a pair of impenetrable black sunglasses, couldn't cover the sneer in his voice.

Star opened his smile a little more. "One of my team mates needs special medical care. Kelly Li requires frequent shots of epinephrine in order to maintain a quiescent state safely." If Blair could be formal, so could he. "Another is a minor who was asleep when we were arrested."

"It is apparent, Mr. Cross, that you have again failed to comprehend the nature of your situation. I will ask the questions, you will answer them to my satisfaction."

Stars friendly smile faded to cool disapproval, only barely keeping his power in abeyance. This was going to be a long day.

Crash was dealing with his third agent this morning. At 6 ft 10 inches, Agent MacGrady was by far the most threatening looking of all of them. Not that any normal human was a real threat to a Class H Exotic, but MacGrady definitely looked like he wanted to try. "I am told that you are strong, Edward Mantega." The agent had been standing for the last five minutes. It made him taller than Crash, and being looked down on by yet another arrogant official was getting on his nerves. "Strong and willing to make use of it. That is why I requested this assignment."

"Agent MacGrady, I believe I have been patient and cooperative under very trying circumstances." Crash kept an even tone in spite of his heartfelt desire to bend Agents Blair and MacGrady into a very intricate pretzel. "I assure you that my team and I have no hostile intentions towards your government."

MacGrady smiled mockingly. "Blair said the child is strong too. I will find him. I will get his scent, and then I will run him down."

Every mote of tension bled instantly from Crash's giant frame. "Agent MacGrady," he said carefully. "I would advise you to think at length before you speak again. It almost sounds like you are threatening Rook, the 14 year old minor arrested with us, with physical violence, and that would be very unfortunate."

The agent laughed menacingly. "I know you're kind. You become angry when your friends are threatened, but your anger is just a cover for fear. You do not want to kill, so you hide behind anger and pray that you can bluster your way around. Pray that the enemy does not sense your fear. Pray that the darkness does not swallow your heart." MacGrady walked closer to the ever-more irritable giant and leaned forward, bracing his hands on Crash's chest. "I will enjoy your despair, hero." he sneered

Crash smiled grimly at the tall human standing above him. "Three things you should know." Extending his will into the flow of time around Agent MacGrady, Crash slowed his reaction time. Raising his hand deliberately, he thumped the NSB Agent in the forehead, enough to cause pain, but not to break anything. With a metallic _clang_ the tall man fell backwards. "First thing - . . . clang? Did you just say clang?" Crash stared down at the now prone man with deep startlement and confusion.

With a snarl, MacGrady leapt to his feet, altering as he went to a monstrous figure armored from head to toe in black steel shaped like a skeleton. The beast had short horns twisting upwards in a crown from his head, and long, white, flowing hair. Pulling out a long, straight dagger, he charged the stunned behemoth in the chair.

Reflex overtaking circumstance, Crash slowed the oncoming creature enough to block the arm holding the knife, and then punch it into the wall, cracking the concrete. Then came the next surprise. It got up. The creature that used to be a government agent took a wide stance, circling slowly, and Crash stood up too.

"This suddenly makes **soo** much more sense than it did a minute ago."

"Extreme Entertainment Network." Star said tiredly. "Just like the last 20 times you asked."

Agent Blair had an unusual way of sneering. He didn't use his face. This made it possible to not know he was sneering. If you were deaf. In a cave. On the other side of the state. With just such a sneer oh-so articulately implanted into his speech, he gave his own formula response. "And just like those other 20 times, Mr. Cross, that network DOES NOT EXIST! I will not accept some cockamamie fairy tale about dimensional travel, so it would be best if you started telling the truth. Once more Mr. Cross; Who do you work for?"

With a loud snap, the door to the interrogation room opened wide and filled up with a solid wall of muscle. Said wall ducked under the frame. "Star!" Crash said with his trademark grin. "I'd like you to meet my new bestest friend ever! This is BEA Agent Paul MacGrady!" With that, he pulled seven feet of menacing black armor and metal spikes into the room and tossed it next to Blair. "He's taking a little nap now, poor tyke got all tuckered out."

Blair tumbled from his chair on top of MacGrady's armored form, and grabbed a bracelet under his coat sleeve. In less than a xecond, the two had transformed into a miasma of darkness, and vanished without a trace. "Well," Star blinked. "that was unexpected."

"Next move boss?" All trace of humor was gone from Crash's face.

"Escape." Star responded. Equally seriously. "Find the rest of Alpha, find allies, get home."


End file.
